Oliver Pollock (1737-1823)

Scots-Irish immigrant who amassed wealth as a merchant and slave trader and contributed the modern equivalent of several million dollars to the Revolutionary War. Believing control of the West pivotal to America's future, he negotiated to open routes along the Mississippi River enabling the delivery of vital arms and supplies and financed the Illinois Campaign. Massive debt from the war led to imprisonment and loss of many holdings. He lived here from 1792 to 1806.